Here’s two crafts that are easy to do and fairly quick to make.

Clip-along skates

These make a cute ornament for your Christmas tree or even a lapel pin for the skater in the family.

Materials:

Scrap of white felt 2 paper clips, 5 cm (2 inches) long Embroidery thread for the laces Embroidery needle with large eye Fabric glue Directions:

Cut out two pieces of felt using the pattern shown. For each skate, slip the felt through the paper clip and glue along the side edges to secure. Using all six strands of embroidery thread, use an overcast stitch to make the laces, leaving enough thread to tie in a bow so that you can hang it on your tree.

Tuque for the tree

Every age group from children to seniors will find this fun and easy, and it’s a good way to use up leftover yarn.

Materials:

4 -ply yarn in colour of your choice Cardboard tube from centre of roll of toilet tissue A piece of stiff cardboard to make a template 2×6 inches (5×15 cm)

Directions:

Begin by winding the yarn about 50 times lengthwise around the template. Cut the yarn at one end to obtain 12-inch (30-cm) pieces.

Cut a 3/4-inch (2-cm) ring from one end of the toilet tissue tube. Double a piece of yarn. Slip the looped end down through the ring, and pull the two ends through the loop. Tighten. Continue doing this until the entire ring is covered in yarn.

Now poke all the ends back through the ring. Straighten them carefully, then gather all the ends and tie tightly. Trim to resemble a pom-pom. Make a yarn loop for hanging on the tree.

– Alma Barkman writes from Winnipeg